Past Exams: Where to Find GCSE, IGCSE & AQA Papers

What Are Past Exams and Past Papers?

Past exams, usually called past papers, are real exam papers that an exam board set in a previous exam season and later released for practice. They are the closest thing to the exam itself, so students use them to learn the format, practise under time pressure and check their answers against the board's own marking. A few related terms are worth knowing before you start:

GCSE and IGCSE are qualifications, while AQA, Pearson Edexcel and Cambridge are exam boards that set and mark them. That difference matters: a past paper is only useful if it comes from your board and your specification.

Past Exams by Exam Board

The short answer: genuine past papers come from the exam board that sets your exam, so start on that board's own website. Each board publishes them differently, which is why the same search can lead to very different results:

AQA Past Exams

AQA sets GCSEs and A Levels taken mainly in England. Its past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports sit in the assessment resources section of each subject page. AQA's own guidance says papers are released publicly around a year after each exam series, stay on its public website for about three years and then move to a teacher-only area, so older AQA past exams can be hard to find directly — your school may still have them. For a closer look at one paper, see our guide to AQA Chemistry Paper 1 (opens in a new tab).

Pearson Edexcel Past Exams

Pearson Edexcel offers UK GCSEs as well as International GCSEs and International A Levels taken in many countries. Its qualifications website has a free past paper search where you can filter by qualification, subject and exam series to find question papers and mark schemes. The most recent papers are held back for a period so teachers can use them as mock exams, so students usually see slightly older series first.

Cambridge IGCSE Past Exams

Cambridge International sets the Cambridge IGCSE (opens in a new tab), along with O Level and AS & A Level qualifications. Its website offers a limited, recent selection of past papers and mark schemes for each syllabus, free to download. The full multi-year archive sits on the School Support Hub, which needs a school login, so ask your teacher or exams officer if you need older series. Our guide to IGCSE Maths past papers (opens in a new tab) shows how this works for one syllabus.

GCSE Past Exams

GCSE is a qualification, not an exam board. In England it is set by several boards, including AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC Eduqas, and each publishes its own GCSE old papers. Check which board your school uses for each subject — it can change from one subject to the next — and use only that board's papers. For a worked look at one GCSE question, see our guide to GCSE English Language Paper 2 (opens in a new tab).

Where to Find Past Exam Papers

There is no single website that holds every past paper for every board. The best approach is to start with the official source, then use trusted revision sites to fill gaps and organise your practice.

1. Official Exam Board Websites

The exam board is always the most reliable source, because the papers and mark schemes come directly from the people who set the exam.

• AQA: The AQA website has a past papers and mark schemes search where you can filter by qualification, subject and series.
• Pearson Edexcel: The Pearson Qualifications website has a past papers tool where you choose GCSE or International GCSE, then the subject and exam series.
• Cambridge International: The Cambridge website shares specimen papers and a selection of past papers on each syllabus page. The full archive sits on the School Support Hub, which is accessed by registered schools and teachers.

One thing to know: the most recent exam series is often kept secure for a period so schools can use it for mock exams. If you can't find last year's paper publicly, your teacher may be able to give you access.

2. Save My Exams

Save My Exams organises past papers by board, level and subject, covering Cambridge IGCSE, AQA, Pearson Edexcel and other boards. Alongside past papers, it offers topic questions, revision notes and model answers, which makes it useful when you want to practise one topic at a time rather than a full paper. Some resources are free, while others need a paid subscription.

3. PapaCambridge

PapaCambridge is a free archive best known for Cambridge qualifications, including IGCSE, O Level and AS/A Level. You can browse by subject and syllabus code, then by year and series, and download question papers, mark schemes, examiner reports and grade thresholds. Because files follow Cambridge's naming pattern, it's easy to download a question paper and its matching mark scheme together.

4. TutorWick

TutorWick's Cambridge IGCSE past papers (opens in a new tab) section collects question papers and mark schemes by subject, year and exam session, with examiner reports and grade thresholds where they are available. Alongside it, the TutorWick (opens in a new tab) blog publishes paper-specific guides that explain how particular exams and questions work, such as IGCSE Maths papers, AQA Chemistry Paper 1 and GCSE English Language Paper 2.

5. Your School and Teachers

Teachers often have access to secure recent papers, extra mock material and the full Cambridge archive. Ask which papers your school plans to use for mocks so you don't attempt them early and lose a valuable "unseen" practice paper.

How to Use Past Papers Effectively

Completing paper after paper without reviewing them is one of the slowest ways to improve. A better routine looks like this:

1. Sit the paper under timed conditions: the real time allowed, no notes and a quiet space, so you practise managing time as well as answering questions.
2. Mark it with the official mark scheme, and be strict — if an answer does not match what earns the mark, do not award it.
3. Read the examiner report where one is available, to see why other students lost marks on the same questions.
4. Record every mistake, noting the topic and the reason: a gap in knowledge, a misread question or a slip in working.
5. Revise your weak topics before the next paper, using your notes, textbook or topic questions.
6. Sit another paper after that targeted revision, and check whether the same mistakes come back.

Over time, your mistake log shows patterns that a single paper cannot, and it tells you exactly what to revise next.

Common Mistakes Students Make When Using Past Papers

• Using papers from the wrong board or an older specification, so the questions do not match the current course.
• Marking answers loosely, or reading the mark scheme before attempting the question.
• Saving every past paper for the final week, which leaves no time to fix the weaknesses they reveal.
• Only practising favourite topics, and skipping the papers that feel difficult.
• Ignoring timing, then running out of time in the real exam.
• Repeating the same paper until the answers are memorised, which tests memory rather than understanding.

How Personalised Support Helps You Get More From Past Papers

Past papers show where marks are being lost, but they do not always explain why, or what to do next. Guided practice fills that gap: a tutor can review difficult questions with you, spot the exam-technique habits that cost marks and plan which topics to revise before the next paper.

That is how past papers are used at TutorWick (opens in a new tab). Tutors teach live online lessons, one-to-one or in a small group, using past papers, structured practice and feedback in subjects such as IGCSE English Language (opens in a new tab). If you prefer a clear route to follow, you can also build your study plan (opens in a new tab) around the subjects and topics you need most.

Final Thoughts

Past exams are most useful when they come from the right board and specification, and when every paper is marked honestly and followed by targeted revision. Find genuine papers on the exam board's own website, use other archives for extra practice and treat each mistake as a guide to what to study next — and if you'd like support along the way, TutorWick (opens in a new tab) tutors can help you plan and review your past-paper practice.

Frequently Asked Questions